A Financial Expert's Best Savings Tips

In her Washington Post/Bloomberg column, Michelle Singletary offers helpful tips on saving money during the economic downturn. She quotes her grandmother, who used to say, "You can't have a dollar without a penny."

It's so sweet when you find a good way to save money. I know I get giddy when I discover a way to spend less and still live well.

There are a few things I do to shave money from my budget every month. To some it may seem like small savings, but as my grandmother, Big Mama, used to say, "You can't have a dollar without a penny."

Some of the things we penny-pinchers do might seem obvious, but many people fail to take the small and simple steps to savings because they think that it doesn’t really add up. But it does. Here are ways to cut your spending:

* Bag your lunch at work. You could save $5 day or $1,300 a year.

* Don't burn money. The average pack-a-day smoker spends about $5 a day for cigarettes. That's $1,825 per year. Without even investing that money, you can save more than $18,000 over 10 years by kicking the habit.